1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus capable of managing output of a document by an encoded image including output control information, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, along with the spread of the digital multifunction peripheral (MFP), the problem of unauthorized duplication of a document has been increasing. As a countermeasure against such unauthorized duplication of a document, a technique for restricting duplication of a specific document has been proposed hitherto. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-009963 discloses a method for inhibiting duplication of a document by adding a barcode including duplication inhibition information to the document and reading the barcode when the document is duplicated by a copy machine.
The recent digital multifunction peripheral includes various output functions such as BOX storage and E-mail/FAX transmission, besides duplication. Consequently, unauthorized outputs of documents are dealt with by adding an encoded image (for example, QR Code®) including information for controlling outputs in various forms, to documents. The information for controlling output of a document (hereinafter, referred to as “output control information”) may be “output permission information” indicative of that output of duplication etc. is permitted besides “output inhibition information” indicative of that output of duplication etc. is inhibited.
However, there is a case where it is desired to allow output of a document depending on circumstances even if an encoded image including the above-described output inhibition information is added to the document. For example, when an administrator having the right to permit or inhibit duplication etc. permits duplication of a document, it is desirable to allow duplication of the document. Consequently, for example, a proposal to meet such a request has been made, in which an operation mode of not performing detection of an encoded image or an operation mode of ignoring output inhibition information is provided and only an administrator is allowed to make settings of these operation modes.
For example, it is assumed that a user makes settings for adding an encoded image to a document to be output under circumstances in which an administrator sets the operation mode of not performing detection of an encoded image in an image forming apparatus including the above-mentioned operation mode. In this operation mode, even if an encoded image is added, it is not detected, and thus there is a possibility that the original encoded image is overwritten with a new encoded image or a new encoded image is added at a position different from the position of the original encoded image in image data to be output as a result. If the encoded image is replaced with a new one or two or more encoded images exist in one document, various problems may happen. For example, it is possible to include tracking information for tracking an output history of a document in an encoded image, but if it is overwritten, information on the original creator of the document included in the original encoded image is lost, and thus, it is no longer possible to accurately track the output history of the document. Furthermore, when a new encoded image is added at a position different from the original position, for example, the contents of output control information in two encoded images are contradictory to each other, such as that one encoded image includes output inhibition information and the other includes output permission information, and thus, it is no longer possible to control the output of the document by the encoded image.
Furthermore, for example, it is assumed that a user sets the contents of output control information of an encoded image to be added to a document to be output to “output permission information” under circumstances where an administrator sets the operation mode of ignoring output inhibition information. In this case, if the output control information of the original encoded image is “output inhibition information”, two encoded images each having output control information contradictory to each other exit on the document to be output when overwrite is not performed. In this case also, a state is brought about where it is no longer possible to control the output of the document by the encoded image.
The present invention has been made to address such problems.